The Grizzly Bear is at risk of being hunted in mainland United States.

The grizzly bear, an important keystone and indicator species, is at risk of losing their protections under the Endangered Species Act in states like Montana and Wyoming and can fall prey to trophy hunting.  This is the reason we need an over-arching ban on trophy hunting of endangered species in the United States by the United States federal government.  

It has taken decades to restore the grizzly population in the lower 48 states.  Currently, their population is estimated between 1,200-1,500 and only inhabit less than 2%-6% of their historical range in mainland United States.  The current grizzly bear population is not what many people would consider to be sustainable considering the very small region in which they can live and the many threats they face of being hunted, poached, and vehicle strikes.

In fact, the grizzly bear is one of the most unproductive species in North America.  In the span of ten years from when a female and male grizzly are born to sexual maturity and reproduction, including the hope that all of their cubs survive, their population would have grown to only eight bears.

Additionally, as a keystone species, they provide more for our ecosystems than we do, keeping the ecosystems intact and healthy. The health of our planet is on shaky ground and in order for us to survive, we need keystone species like the grizzly to help maintain the ecosystems.  The existence of the grizzly bear is a barometer of a healthy ecosystem.  If an ecosystem is healthy enough to support the grizzly, then it indicates it is healthy enough to support humans.  

Across the world, each continent has an iconic species that is able to tell a story about that region long before humans came into existence and for North America, one of those species is the grizzly bear.  It is a part of the continent’s geographical, ecological, and evolutionary history.  It tells a story that no other species can tell.  But yet, here we are standing in the midst of their existence being destroyed. 

Please sign and share this petition asking the U.S. Government to create a ban on trophy hunting of all endangered species within the United States and to ban the imports of all trophy hunts of endangered species into the United States. 

Photo courtesy of Twitter: @XposeTrophyHunt, photo not from mainland United States.

*A side note, since the grizzly population is larger in Alaska, they are allowed to be hunted there.  

Resource: www.bearsmart.com